Page 399 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

With the voice of the Blue Screen, my vision fades.

"Open your eyes..."

I haven’t seen it yet.

I haven’t faced my ugly self yet.

Unable to reach the guilt simmering within, I directed a voiceless cry of rage toward my reflection, who stared back with cold eyes.

"It’s your fault...!"

"Ricardo..."

"If you hadn’t lied, I wouldn’t be hurting this much!!"

"I’ll avenge you... all of it."

"If only I had done what Ricardo said back then...!"

"I’ll somehow... save you."

But my unspoken resentment dissipated into the wind, leaving only silence behind.

The me trapped in the vision shed tears.

And the me watching the vision cried too, signaling the end of a nightmarishly long torment.

I couldn’t understand.

Why show me this?

"Perspective shifting."

The voice of the Blue Screen returned—cold, detached, and devoid of emotion.

"Welcome, viewer, to the 'Sanctuary' of the Mad Tyrant."

"...Please, stop."

"The Tyrant is in a foul mood. Beware the storm."

There was no time to process it.

The Blue Screen wouldn’t allow it.

"Perspective shifting."

I was merely dragged along by the Tyrant’s rampage.

Darkness.

So pitch-black I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

I had no idea where I was.

No idea who was here.

"..."

As my eyes adjusted to the shadows, a chilling voice—soft yet sharp—echoed in my ears.

"How do you feel?"

It was familiar.

A voice I’d heard countless times.

Yes—my own voice.

But it wasn’t quite the same.

The voice I heard now carried a tone of mockery, like it was testing me.

I slowly raised my trembling head toward the voice and froze.

There, seated on a throne with her arm propped casually against it, was a woman.

Platinum hair.

Eyes steeped in madness.

A smile that mirrored mine.

"Why so surprised?"

The woman spoke.

"You’ve been watching all along."

"Who are you...?"

"Who else? You’ve seen me over and over again."

"No way..."

"That’s right. I’m the 'you' you saw in the visions."

"...!"

"Come closer. We need to talk."

The woman, claiming to be me, gestured for me to approach.

"I won’t kill you, so don’t be scared."

Should I go?

I clenched my fists and stared at the woman, deep in thought. The lingering aftershocks of the visions still weighed heavily on my chest.

"..."

Unbothered by my hesitation, the woman continued to watch me with disinterest.

If I went to her, would I be forced to see more visions?

If this was the start of another nightmare...

Crash!

I didn’t even want to think about it.

But then, her calm voice cut through my panic.

"Should I come to you?"

"..."

"If I come, it won’t end peacefully."

Her icy words carried a veiled threat, leaving me with no choice.

Gripping my trembling fists, I took heavy steps toward her.

For now, obeying her was my only way out.

Clack.

"Good."

Clack.

I forced myself to stand before her throne.

The woman, my reflection from the visions, examined me closely.

"You’re pretty."

"..."

"I gave you a compliment. Aren’t you going to thank me?"

"...Thanks."

"Right... Anyway, nice to meet you. Since it’s weird to keep calling me 'you,' how about 'trash' instead?"

"..."

"Shocked, aren’t you?"

She waved her hand dismissively.

"Heh... I bet you’re shocked. I’d be too, if I were you—wait, I am you, so should I just say ‘I’?"

"You’re..."

"You still don’t get it? I thought you were smarter than this."

"..."

"I’m the ‘woman’ you saw in the visions. That’s me."

She smiled slyly.

"I drenched seventy percent of this world in blood."

"..."

"I turned to black magic when I finally realized what love was."

"..."

"I waged war recklessly to flush out the heretics."

The woman leaned closer.

"That’s who I am."

"..."

"Disgusting, isn’t it?"

She spoke as if she were reading my mind.

"I know. You probably think it’s pathetic."

"..."

"You’re angry, aren’t you?"

"..."

"If you think about it, everything started with me. Even my crying must look pathetic to you, right?"

"..."

"I know. But what choice did I have? I was angry and wanted revenge... And I couldn’t survive without it. So I did what I had to do. Don’t you agree?"

Her words were calm.

But every sentence carried sharp barbs, as if she was criticizing herself.

"I messed up."

"..."

"I clashed with Mikhail a lot."

"..."

"We were both wrong, but our approaches were completely different."

"..."

"Anyway... it was hard."

I stared straight at her.

No matter how terrifying she was, I didn’t want to sympathize with her excuses.

"Stop making excuses."

"Excuses? Is that what this sounds like?"

"...It is."

"Hmm... Really?"

She smiled faintly, as if amused.

"So, how do you feel?"

"Terrible."

"..."

"Why do I feel terrible? You just gave me new information."

"Because it hasn’t happened yet."

The woman smirked before I could even finish speaking.

"What...?"

"It’s all in the past now. Things that won’t happen anymore."

"Pfft... Pfft, hahahaha!!!"

The woman burst into laughter as if genuinely amused, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

"That’s an interesting thought."

"..."

"Do you really believe that?"

"..."

"The worst is still far from over. If this much already makes you crumble, you’ll never survive."

Her expression turned icy as she continued.

"What would you do if everyone but you died?"

"...What?"

"What if their limbs were torn apart and they coughed up blood just to protect you?"

"Wait—"

"What if they sacrificed everything—just to save you?"

"..."

"And what if someone took the fall for your sins and stood on the execution block? Do you think you wouldn’t go insane then?"

Lowering my head, I asked,

"Why..."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Ah..."

"Why are you showing me this?!"

The woman lazily waved her hand through the air.

"Shh."

"..."

"I’m the one asking questions."

"..."

A chilling air surrounded me, pressing down so hard it sealed my lips shut.

"You’re the one who answers."

"..."

"And I’m the one who asks."

Her hidden madness surfaced.

The 'Mad Tyrant'—her infamous title—was beginning to show.

"Don’t whine."

Her imperial robes slid off her shoulders, exposing the sinister aura she no longer bothered to conceal.

"You’ll figure it out soon enough."

"..."

"Why?"

The woman in the vision leaned in, her eyes glimmering with madness.

"Should I show you again?"

"...No."

"If I show you one more time, you’ll understand, won’t you? You’ll know why I’m showing you this."

My heart sank, leaving behind only trembling fear.

"Hahaha! Why so scared...?"

"..."

"If you want, I can show you again. My mood might worsen, but if it lets you avoid the worst-case scenario, what does it matter? I can endure it hundreds of times."

"...No, don’t."

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"..."

"You keep telling yourself it won’t happen."

"..."

"You think you’re different from me. That ° N ?? v ?? l i g h t ° you’re not the same as the version of me you saw in the vision."

"That’s...!"

"Exactly."

The woman stepped down from the throne and slowly approached me.

The same height.

The same face.

The same voice.

Yet something about her was fundamentally different—something deeply unsettling.

"Watch it again. This time, I’ll show you the worst."

Her hand reached out to cover my eyes—

"Pfft, hahaha!!!"

But she laughed instead, resting her hand lightly on my head.

"Don’t be so scared. I don’t really want to do this either."

"...Haa... Haa..."

"Was it really so painful to see my past? That kind of hurts, you know."

Despite her casual words, her expression remained deathly cold.

"Yes. You have to be different."

The woman spoke again.

"You must be different this time."

"Different... how?"

"I can’t tell you that. It’d ruin the fun. Besides—"

She gazed into the void with a bitter smile.

"The 'Main Body' wouldn’t want me to say any more."

"...Main Body?"

"Yes. A terrifying monster."

Her sharp eyes locked onto mine.

"Don’t act tough."

"..."

"You’re weaker than you think."

"..."

"If you feel like you’re about to fall apart, hold on. Once you’ve already broken, it’s too late to fix it."

"The vision is collapsing. Static interference detected—"

The woman in the vision looked at me with a cold expression.

"Don’t undo this."

"..."

"Please."

"The vision has ended."

In the darkness—

The woman seated on the throne let out a dry laugh as she watched another figure enter the void.

"Why are you so angry?"

"..."

"It’s just frustration, isn’t it? Can’t you cut me some slack?"

The silver-haired woman responded with a cold smile.

"Yuria wanted to have a word with you too."

The woman on the throne exhaled deeply, lowering her head.

"This is bad."